Who Can You Trust?
by savetoniqht
Summary: In a he-said, she-said standoff, who should Olivia believe—the boyfriend of her dreams, or her best friend? Warning: Will have details of rape in chapter two. Not too graphic, but details nonetheless. Sorry, I'm terrible with story titles.
1. Chapter One

Reviews would be great. :) And if there's anything you'd like to see, let me know!

In a he-said, she-said standoff, who should Olivia believe—the boyfriend of her dreams, or her best friend? Warning: Will have details of rape in chapter two, and possibly later.

Sorry, by the way, I'm terrible with story titles :)

**Disclaimer:** Regardless of my attempts I still don't own anything.

-----

"I love you," Olivia Benson whispered to her boyfriend of three weeks, Eric, as she lay her head against his chest and closer her eyes. He smoothed her hair back and smiled as he hugged her close to himself.

"I love you too, Liv," he answered. Olivia smiled as she cuddled closer to her new boyfriend. She couldn't believe how perfect he was. He was sweet, funny, charming, and best of all he understood her job. He knew how hard she worked, and even when she had to cancel dates or leave early in the mornings and late at night he didn't mind.

"Hey Eric?" she asked, turning to look up at him.

"Yeah, Liv?" he asked.

"Can we turn this movie off and go to bed?" she asked him. They had been watching some movie, but she didn't even know which one it was and they had been watching for almost an hour. He smiled as he lifted the remote and flipped off the TV without hesitation.

He grabbed her hand in his as he stood up and pulled her toward her bedroom. He lay down on her bed as he pulled her next to him. She climbed on top of him and straddled him as she trailed light kisses up and down his chest. She ripped off his shirt as he pulled hers over her head and unclasped her bra, both of them smiling the entire time.

---

"Liv!" Casey called as she sat down on the desk in front of Olivia.

"Hey Case," she smiled brightly as she looked up at her friend.

"By the look on your face I'm assuming everything is going really well with you and Eric, huh?" she said. Olivia grinned and nodded.

"He's perfect, Case. He's absolutely perfect, I'm so in love and it's only been three weeks! Okay, I know I sound like I'm crazy and getting ahead of myself, but I already feel like I know him completely," Olivia admitted. Casey laughed, then almost fell off the desk when Olivia scooted her chair back, which Casey had been leaning on.

"Jesus Christ!" Casey exclaimed as she fell forward before Olivia caught her, laughing.

"Sorry!" she exclaimed. "I'm really out of it," she added.

"I never would have guessed," Casey teased. "Hey, are you two living together yet?"

"Not yet. It's only been three weeks. I know saying we're in love is already quick, but moving in together would just be _too_ quick," Olivia responded with a shrug. Casey nodded.

"He's perfect though," she added with a sigh. Casey laughed again.

"I'm sure, Liv, considering you can't keep that smile off your face for a second. I have to be in court soon, though. I'll stop by later, bye!" she called as she stood and walked out.

---

"Hey Liv, guess what? Guil—" Casey began before stopping dead in her tracks. "Oh…" she exclaimed before turning around and walking out of the room.

"Shit!" she heard Olivia yell from the other side of the door. She heard the sounds of zippers being pulled up and rustling of clothes being thrown back on in a hurry.

"Wow, um, sorry about that… I wasn't sure when you were going to come back…" Olivia said sheepishly as she went out to meet Casey.

"It's okay," Casey said with a laugh as Olivia grabbed her wrist.

"Come meet Eric!" she exclaimed. Casey groaned as Olivia pulled her over to her desk, where the man that Casey could only assume was Olivia's boyfriend was sitting.

"Eric, this is my friend, Casey. I've mentioned her before I'm sure," Olivia said with a smile as she gestured at Casey, whose wrist she still held in her grip.

"Hey Casey, I'm Eric," she said with a bright smile as he held out his hand. Casey tried to shake his hand back, but Olivia was still grasping her right wrist.

"Hey… Liv, I need my hand," she laughed, pulling Olivia out of whatever trance she was in.

"Oh!" she exclaimed with a laugh as she released her grip and sat down next to Eric on her desk. She smiled as she watched her boyfriend and her best friend met each other for the first time, happy that Eric seemed to like her, and Casey seemed to like him enough as well.

"So you're the lawyer for here, right?" he asked Casey once he released her hand from their handshake. Casey smiled back.

"Yeah, I am. What do you do?" she asked him.

"Oh, nothing all that exciting," he responded. "I'm an accountant," he responded with a shrug.

"That's cool," she answered politely.

"Well, Liv, I just wanted to come back and tell you that—" Casey began before she was interrupted by Olivia's ringing cell phone.

"Hold that thought," she whispered as she answered it. She spoke for a moment before her face fell and she ended the call.

"Shit, I have to go. I'm so sorry, baby," she said as she turned to Eric.

"It's okay," he responded with a smile before giving her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Oh hey, Case, what were you saying?" Olivia asked as she pulled on her coat.

"Guilty on all counts," Casey said with a smile. Olivia smiled back before turning to leave.

"Oh hey, Case, how are you getting home?" she asked as she turned back around to face them.

"I have my bike," Casey shrugged. Olivia exchanged glances with Eric.

"Can you give her a ride home?" Olivia asked him. He nodded as Casey sighed and shook her head.

"I'll be fine, Liv. I always am," she argued. Olivia shook her head at the young attorney.

"There's no point in you biking home when he has his car. Don't argue with me, you know you won't win, lawyer or not," Olivia informed her as she left the precinct. Casey smiled weakly at Eric before he grabbed his coat and threw it on.

"Shall we?" he said as he led her out of the precinct and toward his car.

---

"Oh, you take a up right here," Casey instructed, but he passed the turn and continued. She gave him a puzzled look.

"You missed the turn…" she told him as he continued to drive straight ahead before taking a sharp left.

"What are you doing?" she asked quizzically, a little panic rising within her; something was not right, though she couldn't place it exactly. She continued to ask him what she was doing, but he refused to answer her.

"Eric…" she asked.

"I just have to do something first, Casey, be patient," he said irritably. She nodded and shut her mouth. They continued on for another twenty minutes or so before he pulled into the driveway of a house located within some woods. There weren't many other houses around.

"Where are we?" she asked him worriedly as she saw him whip something out from his belt, but she wasn't sure what exactly it was until she felt it pressed against her temple.

"What the…" she exclaimed.

"Just get out of the car. Don't make any noise, and don't forget I have this," he whispered. Casey gasped, but did as she was told. As soon as she stepped out he led her into the house, keeping the object pressed tightly against her back.

"Where the hell are we going?" she whispered to him, but he pressed it harder against her.

"Keep your mouth shut," he demanded as he slammed the door shut behind them and led Casey up the stairs and into a room with a king sized bed. She stopped cold, dead in her tracks, but he pushed her into the room.

"Can't… can't you just do this with Olivia?" she asked shakily. She knew what was going to come of this.

He turned her around so that she was facing him, while still keeping the object against her temple. He caressed her cheek gently, but she felt his hot breath against her and it made her sick.

"She's a cop; she's tough. You're weak, you can't fight me off," he told her. Her mouth fell open—after all her years of putting these sick bastards in jail, she couldn't believe she was actually in the situation of one of her clients.

She watched as he turned the safety off and held the gun up so it was right in front of her face.

"I think you know how this works," he whispered viciously as he began stripping her clothes off. With the gun in her face, she froze and could do nothing but tremble as she was faced with the fact that she was about to be violated in the worst way possible.


	2. Chapter Two

Just by the way: I explained it in my profile (although I don't think it makes much sense), but basically yeah I write about pretty serious stuff, and I used Casey as the main character in all of them. I know that may sound kind of weird, but it has nothing to do with her or anything weird like that. She's just the one I use when I apply these things to SVU, I don't know why exactly. Probably just because she's my favorite one, but I guess I'll keep that in mind and not use her for my next intense story, huh:) Sorry about that.

Reviews would be very much appreciated. :)

-----

As his hands roughly and viciously explored her vulnerable, trembling body, all she could do was try to shut it out. She felt his slimy hands running over every inch of her, and she couldn't do a thing about it. By the time he grabbed her and threw her on the bed she already had tears streaming down her face.

He stood over her as he unclothed himself, his gun never leaving his hand. The look in his eyes was one that showed no remorse. He grinned wickedly at her and laughed at her tears, ignoring her pleas as he rolled on a condom.

"Please, why are you doing this?" she choked through her sobs. "You have a girlfriend! You don't need to rape anyone!" she exclaimed, but stopped immediately once he leaned down and slapped her across the face.

"Shut up," he growled as he pushed his weight on her, pinning her legs with his. She struggled to push him off, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned them above her head. She writhed under his body, struggling as hard as she could to get him off of her.

She screamed as he thrust himself into her, laughing the entire time. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on something—anything—else until he was done. She continued to struggle under him, trying with all her strength to get him off, but he had her pinned down and unable to move on the bed.

"Stop fighting me!" he screamed in her face as he pushed down harder on her wrists, shoving the gun in her face with his other hand. He finally pulled out of her, but remained on top of her. She closed her eyes as she lay still; the damage was done, it didn't matter what happened now.

She expected him to let her up after the first time, and was completely unsuspecting as he grabbed a rope from the table next to the bed and tied her already sore wrists to the headboard of the bed.

She lay silently as she heard him pick up a phone in the next room. She wanted to hear what he was going to say.

"Chris, hey, it's Eric. Look, what are you doing right now?" she heard him ask. She lay paralyzed in fear; she didn't even know what she would do if he called in _another_ man to rape her after she had already been through the trauma once.

"Okay, look. No questions asked, I came to your house around 9:00 tonight. We watched Saw and Saw 2, drank beers, I crashed on your couch. Got it?" she heard him say. Her mouth opened widely in fear as she realized what he was doing—he was creating an alibi for himself. She began shaking in fear as she heard him reenter the room.

"Sorry about that, had to make a phone call," he smirked as he played with the gun in his hand as if it were a toy. She froze as he climbed back on top of her and released her wrists, which were already raw and beginning to bruise. She tried to sit up before he immediately pushed her back down and held her wrists down in the same position as before. All she could do was wait for it all to be over as he repeated the crime two more times before pulling her up and throwing her clothes at her.

She dressed herself in silence, silent tears falling down her face. She watched as he dressed himself then grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down the stairs. He pushed her into the car before getting in himself.

"I'm telling you right now, Casey, I'm in love with Olivia. I swear, you say a word and you won't know what hit you. Don't believe me if you want, but you won't live to see the next day. You have no evidence and I have an alibi. Say anything and you're dead," he snarled before pushing his keys in the ignition and starting the car.

"Olivia won't be so goddamn in love with you when she hears what you did," she snapped before she could stop herself. He turned toward and smirked.

"We'll see about that," he said as he pulled away from the house.

---

"Hey Liv, you had a delivery," Elliot informed her as she entered the precinct. It was 9:30 the next morning, and she had only gotten home around 2:00AM. She felt terrible about not being able to spend the night with Eric, and made a mental note to call him.

Her thoughts were interrupted once she approached her desk, a huge smile appearing on her face. She reached into the beautiful bouquet of roses that sat on her desk and grabbed the shiny gold card. It read:

_Liv-_

_Sorry we couldn't be together last night. Dinner tonight? I'll pick you up at work at 8:30. We have to talk._

_I love you, Eric_

She read it over for a minute. It was incredibly sweet of him to send the roses and the card sounded sweet as well, but the part that said "we have to talk" caused her to worry.

"Aw, that's cute," she heard from over her shoulder. She turned around to see Elliot standing directly behind her. She playfully slapped him on the arm, laughing.

"You jerk!" she exclaimed. "I hope whatever he wants to talk about isn't bad, though," she admitted.

"It's not," Elliot assured her with a smile.

"Oh shut up, you don't know that," she argued. He shrugged as he walked back to his desk and fell into his seat, lifting his feet onto the desk and sitting back in his chair.

"Liv, Munch and Fin just found something, get Novak on the phone and get a warrant to Jonathon Smith's house," Cragen barked as he left his office. She picked up the phone before Elliot interrupted her.

"Novak called in sick," he told them.

"Casey? Casey Novak called in sick? She came to work when she had pneumonia!" she exclaimed. Elliot shrugged.

"Yeah, well she did," he responded.

"Okay, call Branch and have him get someone else to get it." Cragen instructed before disappearing back into his office.

"I should make sure Casey's okay," she said as Elliot picked up the phone.

"Do it later, Liv. We have to get this warrant and get over there," he said.

"Fine," she responded as she waited for him to make the call.

---

"Hey sexy," Eric whispered in her ear as he came up behind Olivia. She jumped in surprise as he gently wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't scare me like that!" she exclaimed as she brought her hand to her heart. He smiled as he grabbed her other hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Shall we?" he asked her. She smiled as she followed him to the car.

---

"So what did you have to talk to me about?" Olivia asked him once they had finished their main course. He had been as romantic as ever the entire evening, and she was practically falling in love with him all over again.

"I want you to know, Liv, that I'd never do anything to hurt you. It was in the moment, I swear…" he began. She gasped.

"What are you telling me?" she asked coldly, withdrawing her hand from his. He gently grabbed it back and placed it between his.

"Last night when I drove Casey home she asked me to come up to her place, said she had something she wanted me to give to you. When we got up there she offered me some wine, so I accepted. I swear, Liv, she seduced me. We had sex, but I swear it didn't mean anything. She seduced me and I was weak. I was turned on and I gave in, but it meant nothing. I'm shocked that your best friend would do something like that to you, baby, but you have to believe me. I take full responsibility for doing something terrible to you, but she invited me up and seduced me…" he said with a sigh. His eyes began watering, and although Olivia wanted to strangle him at that moment, she could feel his remorse.

"Casey… Casey seduced you? She slept with my boyfriend? She knows how much I love you… that bitch!" she exclaimed.

"I know, Liv. I know, I'm so sorry. She should never have treated you like that. I shouldn't have either, of course, but I'm so sorry your best friend turned out to be that way," he told her as he rubbed her hand between his. She sat silently for a moment, processing what he had just dumped on her.

"Are we over?" he asked quietly. She wasn't sure what to do, exactly. More than anything she was furious with Casey. She realized that must have been why Casey hadn't come to work that day—because she was too ashamed to face Olivia.

"No," she whispered sullenly. He smiled weakly as he brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it gently.

"I'm still angry, though. You're on thin ice." she warned him. "However I do forgive you.."

He smiled as he stood up, pulling her with him, and gathered her in his arms.

She couldn't see the sick look of defeat on his face.

---

Casey slowly entered her living room with a towel draped over her shoulders. She had taken nine showers since the night before, and she still felt just as dirty after each one. Her skin had gone raw and red from the scrubbing, but she couldn't force herself to stop. This was her job so she knew it was normal that she felt that way, but that didn't make it any easier.

She couldn't believe after all these years she had come to this point. She had let herself be raped. She had gotten in a car with a man she had just met, and she had allowed him to overpower her. And, worst of all, it was her best friend's boyfriend. She let her best friend's boyfriend rape her. She would never forgive herself.

"Casey, open this goddamn door!" she heard a muffled voice yell from behind her front door. She hadn't even noticed the pounding that had been going on at her door; she had been so lost in thought. She slowly trudged over to her door to open it.

"You seduced my boyfriend!? You bitch!" Olivia exclaimed as she stormed into the apartment. Casey's mouth fell open.

"What are you talking about!?" she cried.

"He told me all about last night, Casey, don't play dumb!" she exclaimed. Casey didn't even know what to say. She didn't know what Eric had told Olivia, but she knew that she had to tell her what really happened. He basically said he wouldn't rape her so Casey didn't think she was in danger, but she needed to know the truth about the man she was dating. However Casey couldn't bring herself to break Olivia's heart like that.

"You bitch, I know what you did! I just came here to tell you to stay the hell away from me, and stay the hell away from Eric. I'll see you at work!" she yelled as she stormed out of the apartment, leaving Casey stunned and unmoving from her spot.

She finally managed to take a deep breath and close the door before making her way over to her living room couch and curling herself into a tiny ball as she let herself break down. For one of the first times in her life, Casey Novak had no idea what to do.


	3. Chapter Three

Usually I like a few more reviews/suggestions before updating, but I already wrote this and I'm bad at waiting:)

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Olivia stormed into the precinct and threw herself down at her desk, causing everyone in the room to stare at her in confusion. Munch, Fin and Elliot all exchanged puzzled looks before Elliot decided to approach her, while Munch and Fin minded their own business for the time being.

"Liv?" he asked cautiously.

"What?" she snapped. He walked closer toward her, but she made no point of turning to look at him.

"Are you okay?" he tried again. She laughed as she looked up at him with anger in her eyes, looking more furious than he had ever seen her.

"Do I look like I'm okay!?" she exclaimed, although she continued to laugh. Elliot furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as Munch and Fin just exchanged puzzled looks from their desks.

"Let's go talk…" Elliot said as he led her around the corner so that they could have some privacy.

"What's going on?" he asked her once they were alone. "Does this have to do with whatever Eric wanted to talk to you about last night?"

"Oh you bet it does." She responded hastily. Elliot shook his head as he rubbed her arm comfortingly.

"I'm sorry, Liv," he told her.

"Oh no, not that… much worse. Much, much worse; not just a breakup." She said almost sarcastically.

"Are you drunk?" he asked her pointblank. She glared at him briefly.

"My best friend and my boyfriend. Yes, Elliot, considering I doubt that you had sex with Eric, I mean Casey fucking Novak. She slept with my boyfriend. She _seduced_ my boyfriend and slept with him. And no, I don't mean she slept beside him in the same bed, I'm talking full-blown intercourse, which _she _started!" she exclaimed. Elliot stood gaping at her, mixed between shock and doubt.

"Are you sure, Liv? Casey? Do you really think she'd do that?" he asked her honestly. It probably wasn't what she wanted to hear, but he couldn't believe that Casey would do that. It had taken long enough for her and Olivia to even become friends, and he doubted that she would risk that. At the very least he could hardly believe that she would seduce him; he had known her long enough to know that she wasn't like that.

"Yes, Elliot. Casey, Casey Novak. Casey Novak slept with _my_ boyfriend!" she snapped.

"You have been drinking!" he exclaimed; he knew she babbled like that when she drank. She shrugged, but she didn't deny it, since it was pretty obvious.

"Are you sure, Liv? Did you see this? Who told you?" he asked her.

"Eric told me!" she shot back. Elliot didn't look convinced. "I confronted Casey and she didn't even deny it, El… I trusted her." She said with a sigh. Elliot squeezed her shoulder in support.

"You'll figure this out, Liv." He said as he walked back to his desk. When he reentered the room Munch was sitting at his desk and Fin's phone was ringing, but Fin was nowhere to be found. Elliot looked at the caller ID of the phone and picked it up when he saw _Novak_ flash across the screen.

"Case?" he answered. She paused for a moment while he assumed she was checking to see which number she had called before answering.

"This is Elliot…" she said more as a statement than a question.

"Yeah, it is. How are you feeling? I heard you called in sick again," he said into the phone. He wanted to ask her about what Olivia had said, but he knew it wasn't his place to ask.

"Um, I'm fine… why are you on Fin's phone?" she asked.

"He wasn't here, but I saw it was you. Oh, hold on, he's back," Elliot told her as he handed the phone to Fin, who hadn't even processed what was going on.

"Fin Tutuola," he answered. Elliot watched as Fin nodded as though Casey could see him before he told her that he'd be right there.

"Tell Cragen I'm taking my lunch break early; I'll be back soon enough," Fin announced as he grabbed his coat and his keys.

"What's up?" Elliot asked. Fin shrugged as he left the precinct, leaving just Elliot and Munch, since Olivia hadn't reappeared yet since their conversation.

---

"Novak, it's me. Open up!" Fin called as he rapped on the door of her apartment. He had to knock a couple of times before she answered, but when she did open the door he was a little bit shocked at her appearance.

She was dressed fully in sweats, she was even paler than usual, and her eyes were sunken and red with bags under them. Her hair hung messily and plainly on her shoulders and was falling in her face as she gave him a weak smile before opening her door wider and allowing him to enter her apartment.

He followed her in and waited for her to say something, but she just walked over to her couch and fell back on it, pulling her legs against her and her knees up to her chin without saying a word. He followed her and sat next to her, though she flinched as he sat. His concern grew with each passing second. He waited patiently for her to talk, but she just continued to rest her chin on her knees and keep her eyes down. He tried to move closer to her to comfort her, but she recoiled back as if she were afraid; he did his best to stop thinking like an SVU cop and just act like a friend.

"Did Liv tell you?" she finally asked in a voice so weak and soft that not only was it nearly impossible for Fin to hear, but it was a voice so shaky and fearful that he never would have expected from the attorney.

"That you're sick? No, Elliot did," he responded, but Casey shook her head.

"She thinks I… did something…" she began. Fin just noticed the water filling her eyes before she hid her face, and once it resurfaced the moisture was gone.

"What's the matter, girl?" he asked her gently. "What does Liv think?"

"I'm not sick," she whispered. He nodded and waited for her to continue.

"Something happened…" she said a little bit louder, stumbling on her words. Fin wasn't sure exactly how to respond, and he didn't really understand why she had wanted to talk to him in the first place. They were friends, sure, but even though she obviously couldn't talk to Olivia, Elliot was always next for her. He tried not to think about that and to just think about comforting her instead.

"Just tell me what Liv thinks first."

"She thinks… she thinks I slept with…" she began as a tear rolled down her cheek. Fin continued to wait patiently, knowing that Casey never liked to show vulnerability and this was clearly hard for her already.

"Her boyfriend." She whispered ashamedly. He looked at her with shock and concern; he couldn't really believe that Casey would do that.

"Did you?" he asked cautiously, just in case. She shook her head violently as more tears began falling.

"No! No, I didn't I swear… I mean… Well…" she started to say until she started shaking violently as she broke down and started sobbing. Fin tried to move closer to her and hug her to support her, but she kept flinching away every time he tried and he didn't want to push it. He just rubbed her back gently until she regained control of herself. She blushed as she regained her composure and a distant, foreign look came to her eyes. He knew what she was trying to do—she was trying to emotionally detach herself from the situation so she wouldn't feel whatever she was feeling.

"Novak, what happened?" he asked once her sobbing stopped. She shuddered as she tried to take a deep breath.

"He…he was driving me home… Fin, she's going to be heartbroken…" she began before tears started to escape again. Fin continued to gently rub her back as he realized that moving closer to her and wrapping his arms around her was just making her uncomfortable. He felt that terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that he always got when he dealt with victims as he tried to convince himself against what his cop instincts were telling him.

"Casey…" he began cautiously. "Did he rape you?" She immediately pulled herself away from him and turned around so that she was facing the other side of the couch as she pulled herself into the tightest ball she could. She was shaking with sobs, incapable of even forming words. Once again he could do nothing but soothingly rub her back, since it was the only comforting gesture he could make without scaring her. He wanted to kill the son of a bitch who turned their young ADA from one of the most headstrong woman he had ever known into a weak, broken victim.


	4. Chapter Four

Can I just say it really pisses me off how the ADA (Alex and Casey obviously because... well who else would it be) always gets blamed when the detectives don't have enough evidence for a warrant or something like that? Don't get me wrong I love them all, but it's not their fault, it's just the law!

-----

"Is Novak back yet?" Cragen asked as he hustled into the squad room. Fin, Munch and Elliot all looked up at him, while Olivia scoffed and rolled her eyes. Cragen shot her a puzzled glance, but ignored it.

"Yeah, cap, she's back." Fin responded.

"Someone get in touch with her and try to get that warrant," he instructed before retreating into his office.

"I'll do it," Fin volunteered immediately as he whipped out his phone. Olivia just scowled at the mention of her former best friend.

"Liv, you should talk to Casey," Elliot said gently as he pulled his chair closer to hers. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Yeah right. I'm still not talking to that bitch," she responded before standing and walking around to the other side of her desk. Elliot shrugged in defeat before he turned around and saw Fin gesturing for him to come over.

"What's up?" he asked casually once he and Fin couldn't be heard by Olivia or anyone else passing by.

"What's up with Liv?" Fin asked him.

"Casey slept with Eric," he responded with a shrug. Fin stood wide-eyed as he stared at Elliot.

"Yeah, I know. That was my reaction too. I can't believe she'd do that," he responded. Fin shook his head slowly.

"Elliot… I went to see Novak yesterday… she'll kill me for telling you this, but… she didn't exactly want to sleep with him," he told him. Elliot paused as he let the information sink in. Fin looked nervously down at his feet.

"You're saying he… he raped her?" he exclaimed. Fin nodded solemnly.

"Fin, she needs to get a rape kit done!" he added.

"Novak just got raped by Olivia's boyfriend and the first thing you say is 'she needs to get a rape kit done!?' Are you kidding?" Fin asked in disbelief.

"I'm still trying to process this information!" Elliot exclaimed defensively before sliding down to the floor and cradling his head in his hands.

"Damnit, how the hell did this happen?" he asked as Fin sat next to him.

"I don't know, but from the sound of your conversation Olivia hates Casey's guts, and Casey is too terrified to face Olivia. She blames herself completely—probably more than even Olivia blames her right now. She sees no difference in the fact that she was raped by him versus cheating with him," Fin said.

"What the hell are we supposed to do?" Elliot asked him. Fin shrugged.

"I have absolutely no idea."

---

"Casey?" Elliot asked cautiously as he laid a hand gently on her shoulder. She nearly jumped out of her seat at the contact, her head colliding with Elliot's chin as he was leaning over her.

"Jesus!" he exclaimed as he brought his hand to his chin as hers immediately flew to the top of her head as she rubbed it.

"Sorry," she said softly before turning to face him. "Warrant?" she asked, not even waiting for an answer before she began to prepare for whatever he needed. He looked down at her and frowned. She had huge, puffy bags under her eyes and he could tell she hadn't been sleeping lately. She had tried to cover it up, but she hadn't done too good of a job.

"No, Case, I wanted to talk to you... how are you?" he asked.

She shrugged and softly answered with the typical "I'm fine." Elliot walked over to the other side of her desk and settled into one of the chairs facing her seat. She eyed him suspiciously.

"Is that such a weird question? You were out sick!" he exclaimed.

"I'm fine, Elliot." Casey responded flatly before turning back to her papers. Elliot sighed, debating whether or not he should bring the situation up with Casey or talk to Olivia first.

"Olivia did talk to you first… I knew that she would." he just barely heard her whisper. His eyes shot up immediately, but he didn't say anything, and instead waited to see what she would give up.

"She came storming into my apartment and just kept screaming 'you bitch' in my face," she told him quietly, never looking up from her papers. He felt as though he should be supporting Olivia no matter what it was just because of their relationship, but Casey seemed entirely too innocent As close as he was to Olivia and as much as he trusted her, he didn't trust this guy and he did trust Casey.

"I'll talk to her, Case, don't worry," he said supportively as he stood. As he did he gently placed a hand on her back, causing her to flinch once again. He pulled back, slightly shocked at her being so afraid of him. She just blushed and turned away in shame.

---

"Munch, get your ass over here, we gotta talk," Fin announced as he beckoned his partner over to where he was sitting.

"Look, Odafin, I don't care if you're late, I am _not_ the father of that baby and I refuse to pay child support," Munch quipped as he walked over to his partner, who was simply rolling his eyes at him.

"Shut up, this is serious," Fin told him. Munch shrugged as he sat in front of his partner.

"Did Liv tell you what's up with her and Novak?" he asked him.

"No way, it's like my fantasies come true!" Munch exclaimed.

"Forget this, I can't talk to you," Fin snapped.

"Fine, I'm listening. Tell me." Munch said, finally being serious,

"Liv thinks that Novak slept with Eric and she's pissed off as all hell, but yesterday Novak told me that he raped her. She's a mess."

"Damn… that is a mess. Is she okay?" he asked sincerely. "Did she get a kit?" he added. Fin rolled his eyes.

"Why is that the first thing you guys ask?" Fin exclaimed out of frustration. Munch shrugged.

"Does Liv know what Casey said?" Munch asked.

"Not as of the last time I talked to either of them. Novak is too afraid to face Liv, and Liv is just pissed off." Fin explained.

"Am I allowed to go kick this guy's ass?" Munch asked only half sarcastically.

"As much as I'd pay to see that, if anyone gets to beat the crap out of this guy it's me." Fin smirked.

"Wait, but why does Liv think that?"

"I don't know," Fin shrugged.

---

"Come on, Novak, you're not hiding from her," Fin said sternly as he pulled her out of her seat. Munch, Fin and Elliot had met and decided that Olivia and Casey needed to talk and figure this out for themselves. Elliot was in charge of bringing Olivia to one of the interrogation rooms and had been smart enough not to tell her why she was coming, but Fin hadn't been that smart and had let it slip.

"Stop it!" she yelled as she pulled away and sat back down in her chair. He reached forward to grab her and she screamed and pulled away from him, curling herself into a ball and hiding her face in her knees.

"Oh god, Case, I'm so sorry, I wasn't even thinking," he said gently, cursing himself for forgetting that even though this was their hard-ass ADA that he was talking to, she was also a rape victim.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Branch bellowed as he stopped by the door and stuck his head in. Fin waved him away as he knelt down next to Casey's trembling body, and Branch just shrugged and obeyed.

"Casey, I didn't mean to scare you, please just come with me?" he begged as he remained next to her. After almost ten minutes of coaxing Casey finally nodded her head and slowly stood up, allowing Fin to help her out the door.

---

"What the hell is she doing here?" Olivia snapped as Fin led Casey into the interrogation room. Casey immediately froze and went to turn around and leave before she was stopped by Fin grabbing her shoulders and turning her around to face Olivia. She kept her eyes fixated on her feet.

"Tell her," Fin instructed as he lightly nudged her into the room, closing the door behind her.

She looked around nervously as Olivia glared in her direction.

"I trusted you, Casey," she finally said. It was the first even semi-civil thing she had said to Casey since she had heard what she had done, and she knew that she hadn't really given Casey a chance to explain.

"Olivia, it's not what you think…" Casey began as she shifted uncomfortably on her feet, not moving from her spot directly in front of the door. This seemed to peak Olivia's attention.

"Enlighten me, counselor." She said sarcastically.

"He's not the guy you think he is," she said. She waited for Olivia to respond, but she seemed to have no interest in the conversation.

"He didn't take me straight home. He took me to some random house, Liv."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Olivia snapped again. Casey shut down immediately.

"Nevermind," she muttered as tears sprung to her eyes before she turned to leave.

"Case, wait," she called. Casey froze in place, but didn't turn around until Olivia instructed her to. And told her to continue

"He… he took me there. When he drove me home. I told him where to go, I swear I did, Liv! I told him exactly where to go, I told him where my apartment was!" she babbled on as more tears formed in her eyes.

"Casey, what are you trying to tell me?" Olivia asked, laying her hand on Casey's shoulder, causing her to flinch and pull away.

"He had a gun, Liv. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have gone with him I know, I'm so sorry," she cried. Olivia sat stunned.

"I don't understand; what is going on!" she exclaimed as she threw her hands up in frustration.

"We slept together because he didn't give me a goddamn choice! Okay, do you get it now!? He had a gun; he held it the whole time. All three goddamn times as he laughed in my face! Now do you understand!? He _raped_ me, Olivia! I would never sleep with your boyfriend, how could you think I would do that!? You came barging into my apartment screaming at me; you didn't even give me a chance to explain!" she yelled before she completely lost control as broke down into sobs, sliding to the floor.

Olivia sat in shock for a good five minutes before she could even react, leaving Casey shaking with sobs on the cement floor alone. Once she had regained her composure she cautiously made her way over to the young attorney and sat next to her. She tried to put an arm around her, but Casey just recoiled in fear once again. After making her presence and identity known Olivia finally managed to make Casey comfortable enough so that she could take her in her arms.

The two of them sat there on the floor for nearly twenty minutes, the whole time Olivia wondering how she could have been so blind to this. She had known Casey for years, and the last thing she could be described as was dishonest. She couldn't believe that she had allowed this man to turn her against her best friend when she needed her the most.

---

"Olivia! Hey, I missed you today," Eric exclaimed as he opened his apartment door to find Olivia standing there, and was only greeted with the palm of her hand slapping his face.

"Casey _'seduced'_ you?" she yelled as she stormed inside. He stared at her in bewilderment.

"Okay, I know you're upset Liv, but we've been having this conversation for two days…" he said.

"She told me what happened! I can't believe I was stupid enough to think she would do that! I don't know if she's going to press charges, but you sure as hell better believe that we're over!" she screamed. He stared at her with a puzzled look.

"What are you talking about, Olivia?" he asked innocently.

"Oh don't play dumb, she told me everything," she snapped. He shook his head.

"Olivia, what is going on?" he tried again.

"She told me about the _rape_," she exclaimed, stressing the word rape as much as she could. "It's kind of ironic, you know, I spend my life catching bastards like you, and I end up dating one!"

"What the hell are you talking about, Olivia!? You're talking about a 'best friend' who sleeps with your boyfriend! You can't actually believe that!" he yelled back.

"You're an asshole." She snapped as she slapped him again before furiously storming out of the apartment.

-----

Okay, not a great chapter. Sorry about that… Reviews are nice:)

p.s. I'm working on my other stories; I'll probably have them both updated tomorrow:) Well, I'll try at least. If not then I will soon.


	5. Chapter Five

By the way, I've been terrible about proofreading… sorry! I know it's annoying, but by the time I finish I just want to get it up already! Sorry. :p

-----

"Are you sure going to be okay, Case?" Olivia asked her for what seemed to be the hundredth time that night.

"Olivia, I told you I'm fine!" Casey exclaimed, completely exasperated.

"Are you sure you don't want time off? You could talk to Branch, he'd be fine with it. I could even talk to him if you wanted…"

"Stop it, okay? I'm fine and I don't need time off." Casey assured her again. She noticed Olivia sigh again as she rolled her eyes.

"Casey, you know you can't just avoid this. You know you have to deal with it. If you avoid it then it will just come back to bite you later. This is your job, Case, we tell victims that all the time." Olivia insisted.

"I did deal with it, Liv. You just weren't talking to me so you didn't know," Casey reminded her, a little more bitterness in the statement than she had meant there to be. She knew that she was making Olivia feel guilty all over again, but Olivia had still hurt her more than she would probably ever understand.

"I'm sorry, okay? I told you a million times, but that's beside the point. Casey, you only took four days off before you came back to work. Now you can say whatever you want, but we both know that spending four days curled up under the covers in the fetal position does not count as dealing with it." Olivia responded equally as bitterly, although Casey noticed the guilt flicker in her mahogany eyes as the words left Olivia's mouth.

"Get out," she said as firmly as she could, regardless of the fact that her voice was shaking and she was fighting back tears as best as she could.

"Casey, _please_…" Olivia begged again, but Casey just shook her head as she stood to open the door as she pointed straight out. Olivia tried to talk to her many more times, but Casey wouldn't hear it. She stood firmly until Olivia finally gave up and stormed out.

---

As soon as Casey shut and locked the door to her apartment she threw her briefcase down on the floor and wandered into her room to change. She threw sweats on before walking into the kitchen to grab herself a bottle of Smirnoff's to drink the pain away, as she had come accustomed to doing. She refused to admit to Olivia that anything was wrong, but of course that didn't mean that nothing was.

She had just settled down on the couch when she heard a knock on the door. She rolled her eyes as she stood up.

"Fin?" she called as she walked over. He had made a point to come check in on her every night on his way home from work, so she had come to expect it at this point. She heard an affirmative response on the other side of the door, so she opened it to let him in. As soon as she cracked it open she felt the door be forced open, sending her flying backwards. She knew immediately that it was not Fin who was at her door.

"What did I tell you!?" Eric screamed in her face as he slammed the door shut behind him. Casey immediately began chastising herself for directing him straight to her home after he had just _raped_ her. She stood in shock, unable to form words as he moved forward.

"Huh!? Talk to me, bitch! You're a damn coward. I told you not to say a word, and I know you told Olivia. She dumped me, you know that?" He shouted in her face. He had her backed into a corner before he whipped out his gun and held it against her temple. As the memories came rushing back Casey let out a strangled scream. Before she could even process what was happening she heard two gunshots going off. It took her a moment before she was even brought back to reality. She had heard the gunshots, but she had felt no pain. Why had there been no pain?

As she came out of her state of shock the reality of the situation sank in. Her door had been kicked in and there were two bullet holes beside her, one slightly above her left shoulder blade and the other closer to the ground.

"Fin!" she screamed as she finally became fully aware again and saw that Fin was beating the crap out of Eric. It had been Fin who had kicked in her door, and it had been Fin that had saved her life. "Stop! Fin, stop, he's unconscious," she shrieked as Fin continued to throw punches at Eric's bloodied face. She ran toward him and grabbed his arm back before he did more damage than he could get himself out of.

He immediately let Eric fall to the ground as he wrapped her in a tight embrace, and for the first time in days she did not flinch as his arms wrapped around her protectively. She finally let the strangled cries escape from within her as she fell against him. He helped her over to her couch and helped her to sit down. He had taken out his phone, probably to call 911, before they heard sirens that stopped in front of Casey's apartment and feet pounding up the stairs.

"What happened here? Neighbors called…" an officer asked as he entered the apartment. Fin motioned to the officers to come closer to talk to him, not wanting to move away from Casey. The officer radioed down to his backup to send up EMTs before he knelt down next to Eric's body to feel for a pulse. He nodded up at Fin when he found one before walking over to him.

"Notify SVU, have them sound Detective Benson or Stabler down here, then we'll talk," Fin said quietly to the officer as he continued to hold a visibly shaken Casey in his arms.

---

"Casey?!" Olivia exclaimed as she rushed into the apartment, followed closely behind by Elliot. They had passed Eric being taken down on their way up, and it had taken all of her willpower not to finish off the job as they did so. As soon as she entered her eyes fell to the blood on the floor before she directed her attention to Fin, who was looking up at them and motioning for them to come take over.

"Case, I gotta go tell them what went down, okay? Liv and Elliot are here." Fin said quietly as he slowly pulled away from her shaking body. Olivia watched as Casey pulled away, and although she was crying Olivia knew that she was already separating herself from reality and ignoring the situation at hand as she tended to do.

Fin gave her a supportive squeeze on the shoulder as he passed her, and she went to take Fin's spot on the couch. She sat down slowly, not wanting to surprise Casey, as Elliot did the same. She tried to get Casey to look at her, but she wouldn't even do that.

"Casey, what happened?" she asked gently as she continued to try and will Casey to look up at her. She watched as Elliot tried to lay a hand supportively on her back, only to have her flinch away even more severely than she had been doing.

"Did he do it again?" she whispered; she was already having enough trouble trying not to blame herself, and she couldn't even imagine what she would do if he had done it again. She sighed with relief as Casey shook her head no. She sighed as she exchanged knowing glances with Elliot—they were not going to get anything else out of her, so they just sat with her in silence instead.

---

"I want him charged with police brutality!" Eric's lawyer insisted as Fin entered the interrogation room. He smirked as he was faced with a badly beaten Eric, glad that Casey finally agreed to press charges on the bastard after he, along with the rest of the detectives, had been trying to persuade Casey to do so for days.

He and Casey had grown even closer since that night, since he was the only one she felt she could confide in. He knew that he could never take the place of Olivia in Casey's life, but Casey still felt uncomfortable discussing anything regarding the situation with Olivia, since it was her boyfriend after all.

"He wasn't on duty," Elliot argued, speaking to the lawyer as he continued to glare at Eric. It took every single one of the detectives' strength not to kill him right then and there, but they wanted him to pay by rotting in jail for what he did, not just get off that easily.

"I don't care, it's police brutality!" the defense attorney retorted again.

"This has nothing to do with police brutality. It wasn't during an arrest, it had nothing to do with being a cop. All it had to do with was the fact that this sorry excuse of a man was pointing a gun straight at the woman I love, and I swear to god I'll die before I let him touch her again." Fin practically yelled before he even realized what he had just admitted.

-----

Reviews really do make me happy. :)

By the way, I've asked a couple of people this because it's just driving me crazy, but I just do not remember this episode. PLEASE, if someone knows what it is, please tell me? PM me, add it in your review, whatever, but please? It's driving me crazy… anyone?? Much appreciated...

Damn, okay so no URLs in here, but if you have the time you absolutely will be my hero if you can tell me: If you go to youtube and search "World On Fire SVU" and it's obviously the SVU video... the video from 0:42-1:00... please, you'll be my hero (which miiiiight just mean I'll update faster!)


	6. Chapter Six

I just read that Marcus Fitzjerald proposed to Diane Neal on my birthday! Haha, is that weird or what?

Anddddd oh no, so apparently really good chance she's pregnant… :( if she wants to be then that's good for her, but I don't want her to leave. Daaaamn.

By the way, why _did_ Stephanie March leave SVU? I mean of course I know that _Alex_ left to be in Witness Protection, but why did Stephanie March actually leave? I just realized I don't know that.

-----

Casey groaned in disgust as her alarm clock continued to shriek, regardless of the fact that she was trying to will time to move back. She lay in bed as she tried to ignore the persistent beeping for almost ten minutes before she could not stand it anymore. The last thing she wanted to do was get out of bed, but Elliot would be at her house in an hour and she did not want him—or anyone for that matter—to see her like this.

She sluggishly forced herself up as she went through the tedious process of showering and dressing, before inhaling three cups of coffee; although she had been in bed for quite a while, she never really slept anymore.

She hadn't even realized that she had been spacing out until she heard a persistent pounding on her door that was continuously getting louder. She reluctantly stood up and grabbed her coat as she met Elliot at the door.

"Sorry," she said as she closed the door behind her. She didn't look up at him, but she knew he was giving her the once-over.

"How are you?" he asked sincerely, although she also knew that the way she felt was clearly depicted in the way she looked. She shrugged as she walked in front of him and led him down to his car.

---

"Casey, nice to see you again… although I do wish the circumstances were better. I'm very sorry." Abbie Carmichael greeted as she stuck out her hand for Casey to shake. Casey smiled weakly as she quickly grasped the older attorney's hand in hers and shook it.

"Have a seat," Abbie said to her, gesturing to the chair facing her own desk once she realized that Casey was not going to do much talking unless she was being asked questions.

"I'll be okay, Elliot," Casey said as strongly as she could muster without even looking up at the detective. She could feel Elliot exchanging glances with Abbie over her head, but she ignored it for the time being; she didn't want Elliot to hear any of the details, and she certainly didn't want them relayed to Olivia.

"Casey, you don't need to be embarrassed. And you definitely don't need to worry about Liv, she's on your side I promise." Elliot said gently. Casey flinched away from him before he even laid the hand on her shoulder than she knew was coming. She said nothing and just waited for the sound of the door closing behind her.

"Okay, now Casey, I'm going to need you to give a formal statement to one of the detectives, but can you give me an idea of what happened that night? I'm going to try my best for you, but we both know it's going to be difficult without a rape kit," Abby said slowly. Casey's emerald eyes immediately shot up to meet Abbie's.

"Who said I didn't get a rape kit?" she asked flatly. Abbie raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"But, the detectives said…" she began, then paused as she waited for Casey's explanation.

"I'm not stupid; I got a rape kit." She confirmed as she crossed her arms across her chest, her cold eyes never leaving Abbie's.

"I never said you were stupid, Casey… why didn't you say anything?" she asked with a sigh. Casey shrugged.

"No one ever asked." She never removed her glance as she watched the attorney in front of her pick up the phone to dial a number that she could only assume belonged to one of the detectives.

"Hi, it's Abbie. Casey did get a rape kit… I don't know, she said no one asked… hold on, let me check," Abbie said into the receiver before lowering it down. "Where?" she whispered to Casey.

"Mercy." She replied, and Abbie relayed the information back over the phone.

"Okay, Casey, that's good… I thought we were going to be going on a he-said, she-said thing here." Abbie said honestly. "Now, tell me everything that happened that night."

Casey reached into her briefcase that was lying next to her on the floor and pulled out a packet of paper. She handed the packet to Abbie, who took one look at the papers in her hand and looked up at Casey with a shocked expression.

"Casey… wow, this is…" she finally managed.

"Yeah, well, I guess the lawyer in me took over for a bit there. It's all the details… the address, times, everything. I wrote it all down the second I got home so I would remember." She almost whispered as Abbie's eyes flew from the papers in her hand back to Casey.

"Wow, if everyone did this our jobs would be a whole lot easier," Abbie joked nervously, also a little uncomfortable by the situation. Casey nodded glumly.

"I'm really sorry about this, Casey… this shouldn't have happened to you." Abbie said sincerely as she continued to read the papers in front of her. "Damn, he created an alibi? This guy is good…"

Casey shifted uncomfortably in her seat; Abbie didn't realize how uneasy the statement made Casey, so she just continued reading.

"This is really good, Casey… look at you, you're not even the lawyer here and you're making my case." Abbie joked. Casey smiled weakly.

"If I'm going to put myself through this hell, I damn well better get justice from it." She stated as she stood up and left, pulling the door closed behind her, letting out a huge sigh of relief once she was alone.

---

"Casey!" She heard a familiar voice call from behind her, and was slightly surprised to see her friend and trial judge hustling toward her.

"I wanted to talk to you before the trial… Casey, I'm so sorry." Judge Donnelly said as she placed a firm hand on the young attorney's shoulder. Casey stared at the floor, humiliated by the fact that this woman was about to hear every horrible detail of her rape. She couldn't imagine how she would ever try a case in front of her again, let alone have normal conversations with her.

"This shouldn't have happened to you," She said angrily, though Casey still refused to meet her eye. "I just wanted to say that basically, I want to put this sick, perverted bastard in jail more than almost anyone, but I just wanted to remind you that me as your friend and as a judge are two separate people. I know that's the way it always is when you prosecute in my courtroom, but this is different. I'm not going to be able to provide any special privileges for you as much as I want to… especially since Langen already tried to get me off the bench, saying I couldn't be 'impartial.'" She explained. Casey glanced up immediately at the mention of Trevor Langen.

"Trevor Langen is defending Eric!?" she exclaimed.

"You didn't know…" Elizabeth said slowly. Casey shook her head and Elizabeth sighed.

"I'm sorry, Casey. Just know that I so wish I could do anything to keep this bastard in jail for the rest of his life, and it's only the job that will probably make you want to smack me. Just remember that I _am_ rooting for you, okay?" Judge Donnelly asked again as she smiled and walked away toward her office.

---

"Bail?" Judge Donnelly asked Abbie, although of course she already knew what the response would be.

"The people request remand, your honor." She responded as predicted. And, as predicted, Trevor Langen immediately fired back.

"Your honor, remand is a bit excessive, don't you think? My client has no previous charges, and he is not a flight risk…" he began.

"Your honor, I feel the need to remind you that the defendant barged into Ms. Novak's apartment with a loaded gun, turned the safety off, held it up to her head and was about to shoot before Detective Tutuola heard the commotion and stopped what was almost a murder, or attempted murder at the very least." Abbie argued.

"This is true," Judge Donnelly agreed. "The defendant will be remanded until the trial."

"Your honor, if the victim were none other than Ms. Novak—" Trevor Langen began before he was immediately cut off by the judge.

"Do not start with me, Mr. Langen. You know full and well that the victim in the case has nothing to do with bail. Court officers, please escort Mr. Eric O'Neil back to his cell." Judge Donnelly instructed before stepping down into her own chambers.

---

"Okay, Casey… who do you want to give your statement to? Whomever you feel the most comfortable with." Cragen said gently.

"Fin," Casey answered without hesitation. Nobody had mentioned Fin's confession to her yet, even though they had all heard it. Cragen smiled and nodded as he motioned for Fin to take her into one of the interrogation rooms.

"Alright, Novak, just tell me what went down, okay?" he said gently as he pulled out a seat of her to sit in and pulled one up so that he was sitting next to her. He recorded to standard date, time, etc. into the recorder before she began. She needed to record the statement herself without the papers that she had typed up for Abbie, but she had memorized every little detail anyway.

"I came into the precinct to talk to Olivia and Eric was here, since they're dating… or were dating, I guess…" she started strongly, but trailed off when the guilt came back once again.

"Casey, Olivia does not blame you. It's not your fault that he turned out to be this way, okay? If it hadn't been you it could have been anyone else… you can't blame yourself." He said firmly. She nodded and tried to catch her breath so she could continue.

"Olivia… uh, Detective Benson I mean, got a call… no wait, I forgot to say why I was here…" she said with obvious worry in her voice.

"Casey, listen to me, just calm down, okay? Nobody is judging you on this. Just say what you remember." Fin said calmly as he grabbed her hand. She nodded.

"I came to tell Detective Benson the results of the case I had just tried, and Eric was here. It was the first time I met him. Detective Benson got a call saying that she needed to go down to a crime scene. I said I had my bike, but she said that Eric would give me a ride since it was late. I said no, but… but she said he would.

"We… we got in the car and… I t-told him where I lived…" she continued as her voice started fading as the tears threatened to fall. She paused for a moment, determined not to let the detectives see her cry. She tried to separate herself from the moment as much as possible so that she could tell the story without choking up.

"He brought me to this house. 464 Main Street. It was white. I kept telling him we were going the wrong way… he pulled out a gun. He made me get out of the car. He kept saying, 'don't forget that I have this.' I kept on asking why he was doing this…" she continued, then paused to try and collect herself once again.

"He brought me up to this room, took off all of my clothes and threw me down on the bed. He was laughing at me. He never put the gun down. He… he…" she fought back the tears as hard as she could, but as she got to that point in her story it was too much. Fin tried to wrap an arm around her, but she pulled further away, determined to just get through it.

"He pinned me down so I couldn't move, and he… raped me." She whispered the end of the sentence so that one could just barely hear it, keeping her eyes glued to the floor. "After the first time I thought he was done, but he grabbed a rope and tied my wrists to the headboard. I got a rope burn.

"He called his friend Chris from the other room. I don't know if he knew that I heard him, but he was creating an alibi. Said that they watched Saw and Saw II, then he slept at his house. Then he untied my wrists and… two more times…" she managed, silently pleading that Fin wouldn't make her use the word.

"Two more times what?" Fin asked softly. She knew he hated to ask her, but it was just part of the job.

"Raped me." She whispered once again as her eyes watered. "Then he drove me home. I wrote everything down so I wouldn't forget it, then went to Mercy to get a rape kit. Then I came home and showered nine times… can I be done now?" she asked, finally looking up at him for the first time. She knew that the pain was obvious in her green eyes. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and she tried to fight back the tears as best as she could before she realized that it was hopeless, and she finally just let them fall.

-----

I wanted to get this up before I had to leave and I have to go like… now, so I haven't edited or anything yet… sorry for typos etc. Please reivew:)


	7. Chapter Seven

Elliot sighed as he dialed the familiar number on his phone.

"What?" he heard a barely recognizable voice slur on the other end of the phone.

"Casey…?" he asked cautiously.

"No, the easter bunny," Casey slurred back sarcastically.

"Casey, your trial is tomorrow!" Elliot exclaimed, already turning his car around and in the direction of the young attorney's apartment.

"But that's tomorrow, not now," he heard her voice distantly from the other end. Then he heard a loud crash and immediately sped up.

"Casey? Casey, what happened!?" he exclaimed.

"Nothing. Bye Elliot," was all she said before the line went dead.

---

"Casey, open this door!" he yelled as he pounded on the wood. He heard her moving around inside, then heard another crash before she flung the door open. She lifted up her drink as a greeting and motioned him into her apartment.

"Why are you here?" she asked him immediately, as his eyes fell on the empty bottle of vodka already sitting on the coffee table. His eyes scanned the rest of the apartment, and he noticed that she had dropped a picture frame that had shattered.

"Give me that. Stay there, don't walk anywhere," Elliot demanded as he grabbed the bottle from her hands before she even had time to react.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she tried to reach for it, only to be stopped by Elliot. He carefully walked over to the kitchen and placed the bottle on the counter, then walked back to her front door to retrieve her shoes for her.

"Come on, I'll go make…" he started before he was cut off by Casey sprinting to the bathroom. He heard the negative results of her drinking as he stood outside the bathroom, waiting patiently for her to finish. She lazily walked out, zigzagging from side to side before she began to fall. Elliot rushed to catch her right before she hit the ground, passed out.

"Casey, come on, we're getting you in a cold shower." Elliot said. He started to lift her up before he realized that when she woke up and was in the shower—even with her clothes on—and Elliot was there, she would most likely start hyperventilating before he even had a chance to explain what was happening.

He pulled out his phone again while keeping one arm and the remainder of his body devoted to supporting Casey's.

"Liv, can you get over to Casey's?" he asked as soon as she answered.

"Is everything okay? What's wrong!?" she asked with obvious panic in her voice.

"Nothing, just get here."

---

"Open this door!" Olivia yelled as she pounded on Casey's apartment door with no response.

"Use your key," she heard Elliot's muffled voice call from inside. Panic rose within her as she pulled out the spare key to Casey's apartment that she kept with the rest of her keys. She inserted it into the lock and pushed it open.

"What happened!?" Olivia gasped as soon as her eyes fell on Casey.

"She'll be fine, she'll just have one hell of a hangover tomorrow. Can you get her in a shower? I didn't want her to worry when she saw me…" he said. He didn't need to explain; Olivia knew that Casey would have freaked out if Elliot had been there standing over her.

She approached her carefully as Elliot gathered her in his arms and carried her into the bathroom. He gently placed her in the shower then left the room to give her privacy. Olivia reached in and turned on a cold stream of water. Casey immediately gasped and her eyes flew open.

"What the hell!" she exclaimed as she jumped up from where she was laying, only to fall back down. Olivia tried to stifle a laugh as she reached in and helped Casey up. She turned the water so it was warmer and helped Casey to stand.

---

"I'm soaking wet now!" Casey yelled as she stepped out of the shower, shivering, and once again almost tripping over her feet.

"You're also trashed," Olivia said with a smirk. Casey said nothing as she grabbed a towel from the closet and stomped right past Olivia. She was on her way to her room when she saw a man sitting on her couch. She froze, paralyzed in fear before she let out a strangled cry and fell to the ground as she tried to inch herself away from the man. She was stopped when she felt hands grab her, and she screamed and lashed out at the person next to her as though it were Eric.

"CASEY! Casey, sweetie, calm down, okay? That's just Elliot, Casey… Eric's in jail, he's not going to hurt you. It's just Elliot." Olivia tried to reassure her as she tried to gather her in her arms, but Casey just pulled away. She heard their voices as they talked to each other, but she refused to acknowledge either of them. She knew it was Elliot now, but Eric wouldn't stop haunting her; he was everywhere. She just wanted to be alone. She just wanted it all to end. She couldn't understand how this could happen to her… how she could have _let_ this happen to her. How she could have been so weak…

---

Once Elliot had left and after a great amount of coaxing, Olivia finally managed to calm Casey down. The pain in her piercing green eyes as she stared with shame into Olivia's nearly shattered her heart into pieces. She couldn't believe the man she had loved could cause anyone—especially her best friend—so much pain. She felt so guilty… not only had she introduced Eric to Casey in the first place, but also she made Eric drive Casey home. If Eric hadn't driven Casey home, this wouldn't have happened. She wanted to make it up to Casey, but Casey just refused to let her in.

"Sweetie, please come with me, okay?" Olivia asked for what seemed like the hundredth time as she laid a hand on the young ADA's shoulder. Casey immediately flinched at the contact. Olivia pulled her hand back suddenly, silently admonishing herself for her forgetfulness.

"I'm sorry," Casey choked—the first words she had said in almost an hour.

"No, Casey Novak I do not want to hear those words from you. You have nothing to be sorry about… nothing. _I'm_ sorry Casey. If I hadn't made you go with him that night, none of this would have even happened. Do not say you're sorry," Olivia said harshly but lovingly. Olivia finally gathered Casey in her arms, and for the first time Casey didn't pull away.

---

"Please state your name and occupation for the record." Judge Donnelly said to Casey, who was sitting in the witness stand. She had never been at a trial from this angle before, and what normally seemed like a daily activity was not one of the scariest things she'd ever faced.

"Ms. Novak?" Judge Donnelly called, bringing Casey back to reality.

"Casey Novak, Assistant District Attorney for Manhattan Special Victim's Unit." She said flatly.

"Thank you… now Casey, did you know the defendant, Eric O'Neil, before the night that he raped you?" Abbie began.

"Object—" Trevor began, but was instantly cut off by Abbie, who knew what he was going to say.

"Excuse me, _alleged_ rape." Abbie corrected herself as Trevor sat back down.

"No, he was my friend Olivia's boyfriend." Casey replied, staring straight at Olivia. "He was going to drove me home that night."

"When he 'drove you home', where did he _really_ take you?" Abbie asked.

"Objection! Leading." Trevor yelled.

"I'll rephrase. When he drove you home, did he take you straight to your apartment?" Abbie corrected.

"No."

"Where did he take you?"

"To a house about twenty minutes away."

"Did you try to stop him?"

"Yes, I kept telling him it was the wrong way, but he wouldn't listen."

"When he stopped the car did you try to run away?"

"I couldn't… he had a gun. He held it to me and wouldn't put it down." Casey struggled to keep her emotions in check so that she wouldn't break down in front of everyone, but it was getting harder and harder with each question. She couldn't believe she had to go through the humiliation of telling an entire courtroom full of people, plus a jury and the judge, about her rape. She immediately felt guilty for all the victims that she had to question who had been in her position.

---

Olivia watched her best friend suffer on the witness stand, and immediately felt a wave of guilt wash over her once again. She couldn't believe she trusted a man like this, and she certainly couldn't believe that she had believed him over Casey.

Seeing Casey sitting on the witness stand made Olivia's heart break all over again. She looked so tiny, sitting fragile and broken on the stand. The strength and radiance that Casey usually possessed clearly only shown from one side of that witness stand. Sitting on that side of the stand she just looked broken and destroyed, all of her confidence gone. It took all of Olivia's effort to keep herself together and not break down in tears.

"So Casey, you voluntarily went with Mr. O'Neil, is that correct?" Trevor Langan began as he stood up and immediately planted himself directly in front of her, obviously to intimidate her. Olivia watched as Casey shrunk back in fear, unable to look him in the eye. The fear was evident on Casey's face, and Olivia wanted to run over and punch the slimeball right there. Casey nodded weakly.

"Yes, he was supposed to drive me home," she said timidly, her voice cracking slightly.

"And you say this alleged house he took you to was about twenty minutes away?" Trevor continued.

"Yes, about that I think…"

"And in those twenty minutes, you didn't once think about getting out of the car? Can you honestly say that you didn't _want_ to be with Mr. O'Neil?" Trevor demanded.

"Objection!" Abbie exclaimed, not even needing to justify her objection.

"Mr. Langan, watch it," Judge Donnelly said as she glared at him.

"He had a gun," Casey whispered.

"When did he show you this alleged gun?" Trevor challenged.

"When… when we pulled up…"

"What about on the ride over? Huh? You didn't try to get out? Call for help? He took you on a drive for twenty minutes and you didn't try to do anything about it!?"

"OBJECTION!" Abbie shouted. "Your honor…"

"Mr. Langan, I warned you once. Don't make me say it again or trust me you will not want to deal with the consequences. Be careful, Mr. Langan, and stop this nonsense," Judge Donnelly said sternly, glaring at Trevor once again.

Olivia sat in shock, her heart aching for her friend as she watched her trembling on the stand. She was shooting daggers at Trevor with her eyes, but she wished more than ever that killing people could be legal, just long enough for her to shoot Trevor Langan.

As Trevor's vicious questions continued, Olivia sat practically paralyzed; she couldn't believe that even Trevor Langan would have the indecency to treat anyone—especially a _rape victim_—that way. By the time Trevor finally left, Casey sat on the stand, shaking and sobbing so violently she was having trouble breathing. Abbie had to physically help a trembling Casey back to her seat, and she still had to continue on with the trial. She knew how hard Casey had been trying to keep everything in, but a person can only keep in so much before they break.

---

"Please state your name and occupation for the record." Judge Donnelly said to Eric as he took the stand.

"Eric O'Neil, accountant," he answered nonchalantly.

"So Eric, you admit to having sex with Casey Novak?" Abbie asked him as he approached.

"Yeah, what she said about the house was true. Just nothing else," he said with a smirk.

"May I remind you that you're under oath, Mr. O'Neil," Abbie said sternly. He smirked again and nodded.

"I'm telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help me god," he mocked.

"So the sex was consensual?" Abbie asked him.

"100 percent consensual," Eric said smugly. Casey's mouth fell wide open, and it took all of her strength to keep from shouting out, although she knew that would just hurt her in the long run.

"People's exhibit A, your honor, images of Casey Novak's injuries sustained from the _alleged_ rape." Abbie said, stressing the word alleged to keep Trevor from shouting out. She walked back to the table and gave Casey a small, reassuring smile as she pulled pictures out of her file folder. She carried the photos over and stood in front of the jury.

"In this photo, you can clearly see the bruises caused by the force of fingers on her wrists, due to them being pinned down. You can even see the indents of the fingers themselves. You will also notice a slight rope-burn over the bruises. In the next photo you can see the bruising on Ms. Novak's legs, from where Mr. O'Neil held his weight during the attack. Finally, although it obviously would not have been appropriate to provide images, the medical reporter also showed that there was severe bruising around the inner thigh and genital region. Now, Mr. O'Neil, tell me… is that usually a result of consensual sex?" Abbie demanded. The room stood silent, and Eric just cracked an amused smile.

"She likes rough sex," Eric answered smugly. Abbie sighed as she moved closer to Eric so that she was practically leaning over him.

"And one more thing, Mr. O'Neil… if you were having consensual sex with Casey Novak in a house that you were legally allowed to be in, how on earth could you be at your friend's house watching movies, as you previously claimed when you were first accused?" Abbie practically yelled as a hushed murmur rose within the crowd.

-----

Hey guys, I'm going away for a week, but I will have updates when I come back! Leave lots of reviews for me:)

ps I think this is my longest update ever, but I tried since I won't be updating for a while.

(No time to proofread… have to wake up in four hours!)


	8. Chapter Eight

Hey guys, I'm back! Okay, one thing: I know Casey may seem very OOC in this story, but nobody really knows what would be IN character after being raped, so there's really no way she could be. People react in different ways, some like you wouldn't expect.

-----

The courtroom stood at a standstill as the jury filed back in from where they had been deliberating the verdict. The trial had ended shortly after Eric was on the witness stand, though it was obvious that most of the jurors were hanging onto Abbie's every word and shooting daggers at Trevor Langan.

As Casey watched the jurors file back in she took deep breaths to calm her nerves, but she could barely take a breath. What would happen next was completely up to these twelve strangers. She realized she knew nothing about these people, and they knew nothing about her. The woman in the front row could be someone she spoke to at the coffee shop the past day, while the man could be someone she went to college with. She had no way to tell what they were thinking, and nothing terrified her more than that.

She hadn't even realized that she had been visibly shaken until she felt a hand lightly pressed on her back. She jumped slightly before whipping around to face Fin, who was sitting on the bench behind her. He smiled at her and she wanted deeply to smile back, but could only manage to respond with a blank stare. While just knowing he was there helped her, she was far from smiling.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Judge Donnelly finally asked once the jurors had all settled back into their seats.

The foreman rose slowly and Casey could see that he was nervous as well. "We have, your honor."

"On the sole count of rape in the first degree, how does the jury find?"

Casey nearly felt her heart stop as the room seemed to spin around her. That moment felt frozen in time and she just wanted to get it over with. She could barely breathe and had to gasp for air just to take a breath.

"We find the defendant guilty," the foreman finally said, causing a wave of relief to rush over Casey.

Eric shot up before the court officer had even reached him to bring him out. His face turned red as he started screaming. "Fuck you! I'll kill you, Casey, and no one will save you next time. I'll be back, just you wait." The court officers just rolled their eyes as they hauled him off.

The room continued to spin around her as numerous people approached her to offer their sympathies, though she wanted none of that. She was pulled into hugs and was patted on the back over and over, but she hardly registered whom she was speaking to. She felt as if she were outside herself, watching from above, but that person was having trouble focusing too.

Casey was immediately snapped back to reality as Olivia threw her arms around her and began whispering things in her ear, like "he can't hurt you anymore," and "everything's going to be okay." What did she know, though? Nothing was okay. It would never be okay again.

She hadn't even realized that she had been crying until Olivia finally pulled away and Casey's eyes fell on the puddle of tears on Olivia's shirt. She blushed immediately as she began to furiously wipe at her tears, utterly humiliated. "Sorry," she whispered as she tried to force herself to stop.

"It's okay to cry, Casey," Olivia assured her quietly as she reached out and wiped a tear from Casey's face. Casey blushed again in embarrassment and continued to wipe away her tears. Once she brought her hands down from her face her eyes locked on the man standing behind Olivia.

"Fin!" she called as she pushed past Olivia and flew into his arms. She finally let herself cry freely, feeling safe with him as he wrapped his arms protectively around her. She pushed her face into his chest so that hopefully people wouldn't realize she was crying, although at that point she was in his arms, so that was all that truly mattered.

They stood there in each other's arms long after almost everyone had left the courtroom. Fin finally pulled away slightly and gently lifted her tear-stained face to plant a kiss on her forehead. She managed a weak, tiny smile back at him.

"Let's get out of her," he finally said as he released her and led her out of the courtroom.

---

Casey subconsciously jumped as the door slammed shut behind them. She knew that Eric was in jail, but his threat had still shaken her up.

"It's okay now, Casey, he's in jail," Fin said gently, knowing exactly what she was worrying about. "He can't hurt you anymore." He gently reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I know," she whispered back, "I'll be fine tomorrow." He gave her a sad smile—the one that he used on victims… the one that she hated.

"It's okay if you're not, you know," Fin finally said.

Casey couldn't help but laugh. "You sound like Liv. I'll be fine though, don't worry."

"I know you're tough, Novak, okay?" Fin began, speaking slowly as if his brain was censoring everything he was saying and thinking about it deeply before it reached his mouth. "We know you're tough, but we're all here if you need us, you know, and it's not going to change anyone's opinion of you. We already know how strong you are."

Fin slowly pulled her body against his and she smiled—a real smile for the first time in what had become a long time. He knew exactly what she was thinking, and he knew exactly how to respond. It was as though he could not only read her mind, but also automatically knew the perfect thing to say. She cautiously placed a kiss on his lips and he pulled her even closer to him as he kissed her back. She threw her arms around his neck as he wrapped his arms around her slim waist.

He gently led her into her bedroom, never once breaking contact until he fell back onto the bed, pulling her on top of him. She leaned down over him as she once again attacked his lips with her own, forcing her tongue inside his mouth, tasting him for the first time. After a minute Casey ripped off his shirt.

All of a sudden he stopped and pulled away, gently lifting her so that she was sitting up on his hips before he sat up as well. She shot him a confused glance, but remained on top of him.

"What?" she finally asked.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked. "I don't want to do anything before you're ready."

Casey smiled smugly and pulled her own shirt over her head before grabbing his hands and seductively placing them over the clasp of her bra. She knew she wasn't ready, but she desperately wanted to prove to herself, and especially to Fin, that she was okay.

"It's okay; I'm ready," she whispered, "I want to."

He grinned as he unclipped the clasp of her bra before pulling it off and throwing it on the floor. He leaned back on the bed before pulling her so she was leaning back on top of her as they continued exploring each other's bodies. For a while, she truly was fine… then Fin rolled over so that he was on top.

Feeling the weight of a man on top of her, she immediately tensed up. She tried to force the thoughts out of her head as the sensation of Eric on top of her came back. She just wanted everything to go back to normal.

"Casey, are you absolutely sure? I don't want to hurt you," Fin asked again.

Casey squeezed her eyes shut and nodded, closing her eyes so that they would not reveal her pain. After a second she blinked them open and forced a smile on her face. He smiled back before resuming his original position while she forced herself to relax. As soon as she felt his hands on her belt, however, her blood ran cold. She had to use all of her energy not to scream out. She bit her lip until the metallic taste of blood flooded her mouth as he worked her pants off her hips, unaware of her pain.

---

"Casey, you're bleeding!" Fin exclaimed as he gently brought his thumb up to her lip to wipe off the stream of blood. She had her eyes squeezed shut and had stopped responding to him. "Casey?" he tried again.

"No, please…" she began whimpering so quietly at first that he could barely make out what she was saying. She started trembling as fresh tears streamed down her face.

"Stop it! Stop, please get off of me! Stop!" she begged, her voice getting increasingly louder and louder with each cry of mercy. He immediately rolled off of her, silently admonishing himself for not listening to the little voice inside his head that was screaming at him to stop from the beginning. He knew in the back of his mind that they should wait, but he had already been waiting so long for her. He couldn't believe that he had overlooked the fact that Casey was hurting regardless of the fact that she kept reassuring him that she was fine, and he felt instantly guilty for not stopping it sooner. He knew as well as anyone that Casey would put herself through nearly anything to prove her strength, as he finally realized she had just done.

"Casey, baby, it's just me, okay? I'm not hurting you," he said, though he refrained from touching her since she was obviously terrified already. "Please, you're okay now. Eric is in jail, just open your eyes."

She kept her eyes squeezed shut, still pleading with him to stop even though he had separated himself from her moments ago. Her pleads were now at a dull whisper, but they hadn't stopped.

"Please, baby, just open your eyes, okay? You'll see that it's just me."

Casey slowly opened her eyes to face Fin before leaping out of bed to retrieve her clothing that had been strewn on the ground. Fin just lay there, shocked and feeling incredibly guilty.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Casey repeated over and over as she hastily threw her clothes on, blushing furiously and wiping the tears from her face, though it was futile because they just kept falling like waterfalls that refused to stop.

"Casey…"

"Please leave," she whispered, unable to look him in the eye.

Fin stood to retrieve his own clothing, then quickly dressed himself before moving toward her, careful to not frighten her. All he wanted to do was make her feel better, and it was killing him that there was nothing that he could do to take away this pain.

"Please Fin," she repeated, "just leave." The pain and vulnerability were obvious in her eyes, replacing the sparkle that was usually there. Just as her joy radiated through her eyes as though she was smiling with her eyes, her pain was just as visible in them. He sighed in despair before quietly walking out the door, leaving Casey trembling in her room.

---

**A couple of hours later**

Olivia nearly dropped the takeout that she had been carefully balancing in her arms as she approached Casey's apartment. She heard blood-curdling screams from inside and her heart nearly stopped at the sound. She threw the food to the ground before slamming her key into the lock so hard it nearly broke in her hand.

She followed the direction of the screams to Casey's bedroom and immediately felt relief wash over her once she saw that Casey was alone and simply having a nightmare rather than being physically hurt. She slowly approached the distressed redhead who was violently tossing and turning in her bed, thrashing at what she could only assume was Eric.

"Casey," she said quietly, not wanting to startle her out of this dream.

"No! Please just stop!" Casey yelled, whimpering and trembling in her sleep. Olivia stood and quickly flipped on the light before returning to the bed. As the light flooded the room Olivia could see not only the tears that were streaming down Casey's face, but they puddle that was already on her pillow. She carefully but firmly placed her hands on Casey's, though she spoke loudly since she knew that Casey was in a very deep sleep.

"Come on, Casey, wake up, okay? You're at home, you're safe."

Finally Case stopped thrashing around but continued sobbing as she pulled herself into the fetal position and turned her back to Olivia.

"Casey?"

"Oh god, not you too," Casey groaned as she covered her face.

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked in confusion.

"I'm so humiliated," Casey mumbled through her hands.

"Why? Because you're upset? Because you're scared? Sweetheart, you don't have to act strong around us. We're your friends, okay? Cry, scream it's _okay_, Casey. That's why we're here."

Casey sighed and whispered something so quietly Olivia couldn't even make out the words. She gently gripped Casey's forearms and pulled her hands away from her face before asking her to repeat what she had said.

"I don't want you to think I'm weak."

Olivia nearly felt her heart break all over again as soon as the words left Casey's mouth. She couldn't believe her heart could possibly break this many times in such a short amount of time, but apparently it could. She instantly reached over and pulled the younger woman into her arms, ignoring the fact that Casey's body immediately tensed up as she did so. She kept holding her there, refusing to let her go. She didn't want Casey to shut her out. They sat there, Casey in Olivia's arms sobbing on her shoulder as Olivia rubbed her back and whispered soothing comments in almost a maternal gesture. After nearly ten minutes Casey finally pulled away, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"I am too, but we're making a deal right now Casey. No more apologizing for either of us, got it? It was no one's fault but that scum's. Don't you dare apologize again," Olivia finally said with a smile. Casey looked up at her as if to determine if Olivia was kidding or not, but she finally nodded with a smile of her own.

"Oh! I just remembered I have dinner outside. Get plates or whatever and I'll get the food. I'm sensing a major moping session is in order; you have ice cream, right?" Olivia said as she stood up and headed for the door. She heard Casey laugh from behind her, and an enormous smile immediately formed on her own face; she hadn't heard Casey laugh in a long time.

---

As Olivia walked back to the couch in Casey's living room with ice cream and two spoons, a pounding on the door immediately resounded throughout the entire apartment. Casey sighed, assuming it was either work or trial-related.

"Case, you want me to get it or do you want to?" Olivia called from the front door where she already basically was. "Oh, it's Fin, I'll let him in."

Casey smiled at the mention of his name, but the smile quickly turned to a frown once she remembered their last encounter. She cringed at the thought as she grabbed a sweatshirt to throw on and wandered into the kitchen.

"Casey," Fin said quietly as she walked in. Without uttering a word she sprinted over him and threw her arms around his neck. He stood shocked for a second before wrapping his arms against her waist. She couldn't help but notice that they fit perfectly in each other's arms.

"I'm so sorry, Fin, I thought I was ready. Well, no, I knew I wasn't, but I thought it would be okay. I just didn't want you to think…"

Fin smiled as he gently placed a finger over her lips and shushed her before she could even finish her sentence. "I shouldn't have even tried, Casey. You don't have to prove myself to me, Casey. I love you, and if it takes you years before you're ready, that's fine. I just want you to talk to me." Casey smiled, then pressed her lips against his once again.

"I think I'm going to go…" she heard Olivia say awkwardly as she pushed past, though she was too wrapped up in the notion that she was in Fin's arms to care.

-----

Hey, longest chapter ever! I love reviews. :)


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